Something About Jasmine
by JRyanRajinCajun
Summary: Nicole is gone, is there someone else who can stump the great detective?
1. Chapter 1

It's 2 am and he's wide awake again. Thunder and lightning roared and cracked and rain poured down outside, but that's not what's keeping him up. Sleep doesn't come easy for him anymore. He got up and sat on the side of his bed and ran his fingers through his beard and thought, "Maybe I should just shave the damn thing off, but then who really cares." He walked to the fridge, took a swig of milk and spat it out in the sink. He looked at the date, expired a week ago. The phone rang; he reached across the counter for it.

"Yeah," he answered. He scratched the back of his neck as he waited for the person to reply.

"Bobby, its Alex. Ross called; the Deputy Commissioner's wife has been attacked at her home. She is refusing to go to the hospital and he wants us at the house. Do you need the address," asked Eames.

"No, I know where they live. Saw it in the paper. Meet you there," Goren hung up the phone and got dressed.

When they arrived at the Reynolds home, it seemed every police officer in town was at the house. Reynolds was yelling and barking orders at the CSU and the uniformed officers. Even Captain Ross was there.

"Glad you two showed up. As you can see from his reaction, this won't be easy," said Ross as he shook his head.

Goren was tired and wasn't in the mood for a politician with an attitude. But he knew if he wanted to keep his job he better hold on to his temper.

"Evan, these are Detectives Eames and Goren; they will be working this case," Ross informed him.

"Well it's about time we get someone here who knows their job," yelled Reynolds.

"Mr. Reynolds, can you tell us what happened," Eames asked the man calmly.

Goren started looking around the room. Reynolds looked uneasy at Goren.

"I came home, the front door was open, and my wife was on the floor. She was all beaten up. I called 911," he responded. He was still watching Goren.

"This door here," asked Goren as he looked at the front door. He was checking the door for forced entry.

"Yes, that door," Reynolds said sarcastically.

"Was anything taken," Goren asked.

"No, not that I can tell," Reynolds was getting frustrated.

"Mr. Reynolds, your wife refused to go to the hospital. Where is she," asked Goren.

"She's upstairs; let me show you," he started to walk upstairs.

"No, that's ok; we'll find our way," said Goren, as he put his hand up to stop Reynolds from going any further.

Goren and Eames went upstairs to Mrs. Reynolds' room. Goren knocked softly on the door.

"Come in," he heard a faint voice.

They walked in. A petite woman was lying on the bed; she was about 5'2", barely 110 lbs. and had long brown hair. She had been badly beaten on the face and bore red marks on her arms; Goren figured they would be black and blue by morning. She was roughed up pretty bad, but you could still see her green eyes. She appeared sad, but still beautiful. _How did she end up with an old goat like Reynolds,_ he wondered. Mrs. Reynolds was about 35-38; Mr. Reynolds was 55, 5'10", maybe about 250 pounds and not what Goren would consider attractive for an older man.

"Mrs. Reynolds, we hate to bother you. I'm Detective Goren and this is Detective Eames," he sat in the chair by her bed so he could look at her when he talked. "We need to know what happened."

"Didn't my husband tell you," she asked. She sat up in bed.

"Well he didn't come home until after it was over. We need to hear from you how it happened," Bobby explained. He leaned in to make eye contact. He wanted her to feel comfortable. He already had his suspicions, but didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"Well I finished work at the homeless shelter, and then I came home. I started supper, and then I heard someone in the living room. I thought Evan had come home, so I went to check and..." she broke down and started to cry.

Bobby noticed she couldn't look at him when she talked. A sign that she wasn't being truthful.

"Mrs. Reynolds, did you set the alarm when you came home," asked Bobby.

"I don't remember," she replied, as she looked down at her feet.

"I noticed your front door automatically locks when you close it. You wouldn't have left it wide open," he explained to her, using his hands as he talked.

"No, I wouldn't," she said looking up into his eyes.

"Mrs. Reynolds, nobody broke in. Whoever came into the house had a key. There was no sign of forced entry. Besides you and your husband, who else has a key," Bobby looked into her eyes again. "Don't be afraid, we can help you."

She broke down crying again. "How…how can you help me? You know who he is, he is the Deputy Commissioner. Are they going to put him away for spousal abuse and rape? I don't think so. Please just go," she lied back down and cried.

Bobby put his hand over his mouth and looked at Eames.

"At least let us take you to the hospital and get you out of the house tonight," begged Eames. "We can get the evidence and have it on file in case you change your mind."

"You can't do anything unless I press charges. If I do that he will kill me," she cried. "That's what he told me."

"Will you at least go to the hospital, we won't tell him anything. We promise," said Goren.

She looked into Goren's eyes, "I'm trusting you. I'll go."

Evan Reynolds came busting through the door. "Jasmine are you alright? I heard you crying." He ran to his wife's side.

Goren balled up his hand into fist. Eames went next to Goren and grabbed his hand; she didn't want him to start anything, even though she would have liked to belt the man, too. But they had to get Jasmine out of the house.

"I'm ok Evan, they just convinced me it's for the best that I go get checked out at the hospital," said Jasmine as she tried to smile.

"Let me get my coat, I'll come with you," he replied. He looked uneasy and worried. He kept looking at Goren and Eames.

"No, that's ok, you finish up here with the police; they will bring me back after the doctor checks me out," she patted his hand. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead.

Goren helped Jasmine with her coat. As he slipped it on her shoulders she reached up and touched his hand and lightly squeezed it. She didn't say anything, just headed out the door. Bobby looked at his hand; why did suddenly he have this strange feeling in his gut?


	2. Chapter 2

"There is one thing that is bothering me," said Goren, pacing in the ER waiting room.

Eames was almost afraid to talk, "What's that?" She and Bobby were waiting for the doctor to finish examining Mrs. Reynolds and come out to speak with them about his findings.

"His hands. For Evans to have inflicted that much damage on her, he would have had some damage on his hands," Bobby ran his hand through his hair and noticed Ross had arrived.

"So what's going on that you couldn't tell me on the phone and that you didn't want me to allow Reynolds to see his wife," demanded Ross. He stood there with both hands on his hips, ready to read them the riot act. Before they could answer, the ER doctor walked out and came over to them.

"I completed the examination, there was some vaginal tearing, and we found semen and there were scratches on her thighs. She did put up a fight. We are going to keep her overnight for observation," the doctor spoke softly to the three detectives. He handed them a large, carefully sealed, plastic bag. "Here is the rape kit you requested. You can see her now; it will be a few minutes before we can get her into a room," he finished and left the waiting room.

"She was raped," asked Ross. "Is this why you don't want Reynolds here, you're afraid he will get upset? This is his wife; he has a right to know."

Goren and Eames looked at each other. Eames looked at the floor; Goren rubbed the back of his neck.

"No Captain, she says her husband did this to her," explained Eames. They both stared at Ross waiting for his reaction.

"Oh crap, she is accusing the Deputy Commissioner of abuse and rape," questioned Ross. He began pacing in front of them.

"No Captain, she is accusing her husband. We can't let this become a political case," argued Goren. "She is a victim; we can't treat this any differently than any other case." Goren was getting angry.

"I'm glad you feel that way Detective, but there are still procedures that need to be followed. Did she tell you the whole story," demanded Ross.

"No Captain, we haven't had the chance to fully question her yet," said Eames, standing in between Ross and Goren.

"Well I suggest you do that. I will take the rape kit down to the lab and have them hold off Reynolds until we get the full story," he exchanged glances with Goren. "Then I will question Reynolds. Do you understand?"

"Understood," said Eames. Goren nodded.

Ross left the ER. Goren and Eames went into Jasmine Reynolds' cubicle. She had her eyes closed but opened them when the detectives walked in.

"Sorry to wake you," said Goren as he approached her bedside and sat down.

"I wasn't sleeping, just have a bad headache," she replied. She turned her head to look at him.

"I hate to have to ask you to go through it again, but we really need to get the story straight. Can you start from the beginning," asked Goren. He opened his binder and started to take notes, but also maintained eye contact.

"I was late getting home from the homeless shelter. Evan doesn't like me working there; you see he has always had money. I came from a poor family so I like to help the less fortunate. Well, I was late, because I was talking to this woman who had just lost her husband; he had psychiatric problems and killed himself. She just needed someone to talk to. Evan called me on my cell and I told him I would be late. He was really angry; he told me to forget about supper, he would just eat out with his friends. When he got home late, I had waited up to explain. He is so insecure that I will find another man if I spend anytime out of the house. So when he gets like that I just try to ignore him. He didn't even take off his coat or gloves, he just grabbed me and started hitting on me, and then he threw me on the sofa and..." she broke down and cried.

Goren reached out and gently touched her hand. Eames left the room and called CSU to search for a pair of gloves. That explained why his hands were protected. Eames also called the Captain and filled him in.

"Has he hit you before Mrs. Reynolds," Goren asked, still touching her hand.

"Yes, please call me Jasmine; I don't think I ever want to be called that other name again," she cried.

He handed her his handkerchief.

"Why didn't you report him before or leave," he asked as he looked into her eyes.

"I had no where to go. I met Evan after my parents died. I had no money working as a waitress trying to get through school. I had no other family. He used to come into the diner. He was so sweet and nice. He would tip real big. One day he came when I got off of work with a dozen roses and a limo. He asked me to dinner; nobody had ever done that for me. I felt like a queen. Three months later we got married. That was three years ago.

"The first time he hit me, he was drunk. He promised it would never happen again. But when it did, I started taking pictures; I put them in a safe deposit box. I gave my friend Kathy the key; I told her if I end up dead to take the pictures to the police," she finished.

Eames walked back in; she notice Goren was now holding Jasmine's hand. "You have pictures of other abuse?"

"Yes, it's at the First Bank and Trust on Fifth Ave." she said.

"We'd better let you get some sleep. We are going to post an officer at your door so you will be safe," said Eames. "We need to get back to headquarters," she said as she looked at Goren.

"Here is my card Jasmine; if you need anything call," Goren said. He pulled out one of his business cards and gave it to her.

She smiled up at him, "Thank you so much Detective Goren."

He began to walk away and then he realized he was still holding her hand. They both smiled. When they walked out, Eames turned to him.

"What the hell you think you're doing," she demanded, standing in front of him and staring him in the eye.

He started walking toward the exit. "What do you mean," he replied nonchalantly.

"Sitting there, smiling and holding hands with a rape victim, especially the wife of the Deputy Commissioner," she had to walk fast to keep up with him, but she was angry.

"You're making too much out of nothing Eames," he replied. "Did they find the gloves?"

"Yes, they found the gloves and they had blood on them. CSU took them to the lab. But we are not finished with this," demanded Eames. She climbed into the driver's seat of the SUV.

"Did they bring in Reynolds," asked Goren, looking down at his notes.

"Yes, they did and Ross is waiting for us before he questions him. You're not going to discuss this with me are you," she asked.

"Nope," he replied.

When they arrived at One Police Plaza, Ross was just showing Reynolds into his office. The Chief of D's was also there.

"The gangs' all here," snarked Eames.

Ross motioned for them to come into the office. Reynolds was sitting down in the chair. Ross was behind his desk. The Chief took the seat beside Reynolds, Goren and Eames took the seats behind Reynolds. Reynolds held his head down low with his hands covering his face.

"Ok Evan, we need to know exactly what happened," said Ross.

He brought his hands down to his knees and lifted his face to look at Ross. "I told you, Danny. I came home and found her on the floor and called 911. Why am I here and not with my wife," he demanded. He got up, paced around and glared at Goren.

"Calm down Evan, we just need to get the story straight," said Chief Moran. He stood up and motioned to Reynolds to sit back down. "Just tell us your side of the story."

"I came home about 1:00 a.m. The door was open, and Kellie was on the floor; she was unconscious. I ran to check on her and I called 911," he finished.

"Where were you till 1 am," asked Goren, looking up from his binder.

Moran, Ross and Reynolds glared at Goren.

"I was out with a friend having drinks," he said nervously as he turned around, looking back at Ross. "Now can I see my wife?"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," answered Ross. He pushed his chair back, afraid Reynolds would jump across his desk when he told him the accusations. "Your wife claims you beat and raped her, Evan."

He jumped out of his chair and threw it back, it almost hit Eames. "What the hell," he screamed. "I would never do such a thing! I need to talk to her now! She must have been hit hard on the head. She has lost her mind!"

All the men were standing waiting to see what he would do next. Eames stood back. Evans was frantically pacing back and forth; his hands were balled up into fists. Goren thought of the damage he could do to a woman with that rage.

"Danny, I need to talk some sense into her. I need to see her," he raged.

"What, like you talked sense into her last night," responded Goren. "You know she has more pictures of other beatings in a safe deposit box."

Reynolds turned and took a swing at Goren. Goren leaned back and Reynolds missed, he lost his balance and almost fell.

"Goren, out!" yelled Ross.

Goren and Eames walked out the office.

"What are you trying to do Bobby, get fired," asked Eames angrily.

Bobby didn't answer; he just threw his binder on his desk and walked out.


	3. Chapter 3

Goren got in his car and drove around. He thought about what Eames said. He really didn't know what he was doing. But something about Reynolds reminded him of his father. He thought he was better than everyone else, above the law, and like to push women around. Reynolds had money and power so it seemed he would get away with it.

Jasmine was a nobody, so she would be swept under the rug, but he wasn't going to allow that to happen. She wasn't going to be discarded like his mother was. He drove to the hospital. He asked at the desk what room Jasmine Reynolds was in, but they had no one listed under that name. Then he thought maybe they didn't list her under her name, so he asked for Jane Doe, they gave him the room number.

He slowly opened the door. She was resting quietly, but turned like she sensed someone in the room.

"Who's there," she sat up, she sounded frightened.

"It's ok Mrs. Reynolds, it's just me Detective Goren," he said calmly. He approached the bed slowly and sat in the chair next to the bed. "I'm sorry if I startled you."

"It's ok, over the last few years with Evan I have begun to sleep lightly," she sat back in the bed. "I told you to call me Jasmine," she smiled slightly. "What can I help you with?"

"Do you have the key to the safe deposit box," he asked. "It would make it a lot easier. I brought a form for you to fill out giving us permission to open it."

"Yes, I always keep the key with me. I didn't want Evan to find out," she said, as she reached into her purse and handed him the key. "Thank you so much for helping me." She put the key in his hand, then held his hand for a few seconds, she looked deeply into his eyes, "You are such a sweet caring person." She let go of his hand and signed the paper. "The banks don't open for a few more hours, that sofa opens into a cot, maybe you should try and get some sleep yourself," she suggested. "They have an extra blanket and pillow in the closet."

"I don't know, I have bothered you enough," Goren said shyly.

"Well you would be doing me a favor. I been so jumpy, I know there is a cop outside, but I never know who is on Evan's side. It would make me feel safer, unless you have something else to do, I would understand," she replied, she looked disappointed.

"Well maybe just a little while," he said. He took off his shoes and jacket. Got the blanket and pillow out the closet and made himself comfortable on the sofa.

"Sleep tight," she smiled and laughed, at his long legs hanging off the edge.

"Really tight," he laughed.

She turned over and smiled, "This is going better than I could have ever planned," She thought to herself.

At 8 a.m. Goren's cell rang and woke him up. He turned over and fell to the floor; he momentarily forgot where he was. He got his bearings and answered his cell.

"Goren," he answered.

"Bobby where are you," questioned Eames.

"Thought I would get a few hours of sleep before the bank opened," he whispered. He glanced over at Jasmine who was still asleep. He put on his shoes and walked into the hall.

"The bank," she questioned.

"I got authorization from Jasmine to open the safe deposit box, so I can retrieve the pictures," he answered. He ran his fingers through his hair as he paced up and down the hallway. The hallway was full of early morning commotion; doctors being paged over the intercom, Eames must have picked up on this.

"Bobby, did you spend the night at the hospital," she quizzed. Eames was worried her partner was getting to personally involved. Spending the night at the victim's bedside, calling her by her first name. This just wasn't right.

Bobby ignored the question, "I'll see you at the station after I stop by the bank." He hung up the cell phone.

Bobby quietly walked back into the room to get his jacket.

"Sneaking out on me," asked Jasmine as she sat up in bed.

"I thought you were still sleeping, sorry didn't want to wake you," replied Bobby. "I need to head to the bank and get those pictures."

"I understand I should be getting discharged this morning. I need to figure out where I am going to stay," said Jasmine, as she looked at Bobby. She used what some called her lost puppy look and she used it well.

"The department can set you up somewhere," explained Bobby as he sat on the edge of her bed.

Jasmine reached for his hand, "Thank you for all you have done, but I have managed to put some money aside, I guess I will just stay at a hotel until this mess is all sorted out. Have they arrested Evan yet?"

Bobby held her hand, "I don't know; they were still questioning him when I..." he stopped talking and stood up and looked out the window.

"What's the matter Robert? I hope you don't mind if I call you Robert," she asked.

He turned to her, "No, I don't mine. I kind of lost my temper last night and stormed out when they were questioning him."

"And you ended up here," she replied. She reached out for his hand. He took it and sat back down on the bed. "I don't want to cause you any trouble Robert." She reached up and touched the side of his face. "Maybe it's best you back away from this."

"I can't do that. I made a promise to you and I plan on keeping it," he said. "I am a man of my word."

"I wish I would have met you before I met Evan. I always end up with the bad guys, never the good ones," she bowed her head and began to cry.

He put his arms around her and held her. She put her arms around him and held him tight.

She thought, "All men are such suckers." After a few minutes,

"Jasmine I have to go. But I will check on you later. The officer will let me know where you're staying," said Goren. He let go of her hand and headed out the door.

Jasmine lay back down in bed with a smile on her face.

Goren retrieved the pictures from the safe deposit box and returned to One Police Plaza. He walked right past Eames and went into Ross's office. He dropped the envelope right onto Ross's desk.

"Now do you believe," he asked in an angrily tone.

Eames hurried into the office but didn't say a word.

Ross opened the envelope; there were dozens of photos from 10 other beatings. She had bruises on the face, arms, legs, and abdomen. Some of them minor, some so bad they were black and her eyes were swollen shut.

"Detective, after you left last night something else was discovered. I think you should sit down," said Ross.

"I think I will stand," replied Goren.

"Ok, Evan Reynolds has ED, Erectile Dysfunction. He takes V Boost. If he wanted to rape his wife he would have to have planned it. He would have to take the medication at least an hour before. You can only take one a day. He took one 5 hours earlier when he was with his mistress, and then they dined out. Evan Reynolds was going to divorce his wife. They have a pre-nup that she only gets 1/8 of his assets if they divorce in the first 5 years. But if he is convicted of spousal abuse and goes to jail, she gets half. This seems too much like a set up to me," said Ross.

"Is that because Evan Reynolds is a Deputy Commissioner? Do we know how long V Boost lasts? We do have his semen in his wife. Did she get someone else to rape her, and then plant his sperm? Then how did she get fresh sperm? They could tell if it had been frozen," explained Goren.

"No, I don't have the answers to that," said Ross as he looked at his file.

"So do we make the arrest or not," asked Goren as he looked into Ross's eyes.

"I'll call the Chief, the Commissioner and the DA. You and Eames pick him up," said Ross. "It was a nice job while it lasted."

Eames followed Goren out of the office. "Goren we need to talk," she said, as she ran after Goren.

"We can talk after we pick up this dirt bag," replied Goren.

They arrested Evan Reynolds for the beating and rape of his wife. Instead of going to trial and further smearing his family name, he took a plea of 5 years in prison. Jasmine received ½ of his worth; her share came to 5 million dollars.

Goren went to tell her of the arrest but she had already seen it on TV.

"Hi Robert," she said when she saw him at the door. "Come in."

"You're packing," he asked.

"I saw the arrest on the television. So thanks to you it's safe for me to go home," she walked up to him and put her hand on his cheek. "You did as you promised. Thank you. How is Evan taking it?"

"Why are you worried about him," Goren asked suspiciously.

"Well the abused always worries about the abuser don't they," she asked. She looked at him with a side glance and smiled.

Goren got that uneasy feeling again.

"He really didn't hurt you did he," asked Goren. He shook his head and a light bulb went on in his head. "You set him up and played me didn't you? You had someone else beat you up and fake the attack that night. What did you do, follow him to his night with the other woman and steal the used condom to get the sperm? Those pictures were just doctored up photos."

"How could you think that Robert," she said sarcastically with a grin. "I would never do anything of the sort. But you have been such a good friend; I hope we see each other again soon. You know where I live, stop by for coffee sometime."

She picked up her suitcase and walked out the door. Goren knew there was nothing he could do about it. She had framed Evan Reynolds very well; it was an air tight case. Eames will have a field day with this one.

Goren returned to One Police Plaza. Ross and Eames were standing at his desk reading over a file.

"Bobby you will never believe this," she said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "I just got this information on Jasmine Elizabeth Barrett; that was Jasmine's full name before she married Reynolds. Well according the Atlanta, Georgia, where Jasmine told Reynolds she was from, Jasmine Barrett died when she was 2 years old with her parents in a car accident, 35 years ago," finished Eames.

"Then who is she," questioned Goren. He ran his fingers through his hair, as he looked at the file. "She set him up good; we can't prove he is innocent. She had an accomplice to help her. We need to find her friend, the one she said worked at the diner with her," Goren looked in his binder, "Kathy. We need to talk to her."

Goren and Eames drove to the diner where Evan and Jasmine met.

"Hi, I'm Detective Eames and this is Detective Goren. We need to talk to Kathy," asked Eames.

"Kathy?" said the owner.

"Do you have a Kathy who works here," asked Goren. "She was friends with a Jasmine who used to work here." Goren pulled out a picture of Jasmine and showed it to the owner.

"Oh, yes Jasmine, I remember her, pretty young thing she was. Married some rich guy who used to come in here," said the owner. "She was friends with Kate and Derek the dishwasher. They both disappeared four days ago, I figured they just eloped. They talked about getting some big payoff, running off and getting married. So when they didn't show up for work I figured they went to Vegas or something."

"Do you have their addresses," asked Eames.

"Yeah sure, but I called, they aren't home," he replied. He handed Eames the address.

"I don't like the looks of this," said Eames.

"I don't either," replied Goren.

They arrived at Kate's place and before they could even knock on the door the smell of decomp over came them. Goren kicked in the door. Kate and Derek were both dead on the floor, which looked like a murder suicide. Kate had a gun in her hand; it appeared she shot Derek and then herself. Eames called CSU and Goren surveyed the scene.

"She did this. They helped her, and then she had to kill the witnesses," he said angrily. He stormed out the room.

"Wait Bobby, we have to wait for the CSU team," yelled Eames. But it was too late Bobby was gone.

Bobby took his set of keys and drove off to the Reynolds home. But when he got there she was already gone. He found an envelope addressed to him with a letter.

_Dearest Bobby,_

_You weren't as challenging as Nicole said you would be. I met her in Jamaica 8 years ago; she was so charming, don't you think. Here is a picture for you to remember us by. Too bad your friend Declan had to kill her. She was so talented. Hopefully one day we will meet again. And no those pictures weren't doctored. Reynolds is a wife beater and I did love him in the beginning. But that is all I will admit to, he deserved what he got._

_With all my love,_

_Jasmine _

There was also a picture of Nicole and Jasmine on the beach in Jamaica. Goren put the envelope and picture in his pocket. He put his face in his hands. What to do now? They still had no evidence. He got back into the SUV and headed back to the crime scene. All he could do was work the case. Tomorrow was another day.


End file.
